“Under the Milky Way” and “Metropolis” remain iconic songs from the late ‘80s, but The Church has something shiny and new for us in the form of “The Hypnogogue.” The “retro-futuristic” single from the Australian artists is destined to join their list of hits that also includes “Reptile,” “The Unguarded Moment,” and “Almost With You.”
“‘The Hypnogogue’ is set in 2054… a dystopian and broken down future,” explains Steve Kilbey, The Church’s bassist, vocalist, and founder. “Invented by Sun Kim Jong, a North Korean scientist and occult dabbler, it is a machine and a process that pulls music straight of dreams.”
“The song is about Eros Zeta the biggest rock star of 2054 who has traveled from his home in Antarctica (against his manager’s advice) to use the Hypnogogue to help him revive his flagging fortunes,” he continues. “In the midst of the toxic process, he also falls in love with Sun Kim and it all ends tragically (of course…as these things often do).”
The video is a visual masterpiece reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” or Terry Gilliam’s “12 Monkeys” and Kilbey says director Clint Lewis captured his fantastical storyline.
He goes on, “I gave the director a lot of input into this video but he took my ideas and ran with them and came up with a fair bit of stuff I never envisaged,” Kilbey smiles. “The Church appear on screens in the Hypnogogue as workers in the system, translating the dreams of users into real time music. I’m very happy with the way it all turned out. It’d be hard to get a better result!”
THE CHURCH
Since their launch in 1980, The Church have expanded their atmospheric blend of indie rock, post-punk, and psychedelia, which gained them high praise at this summer’s Cruel World Festival.
Entering the fourth decade of making music, they are currently working on their 26th album, the follow-up to 2017’s “Man Woman Life Death Infinity.” The new album is expected to be released in early 2023.
The 2022 line-up is Kilbey, drummer Tim Powles, guitarist Ian Haug, guitarist Jeffrey Cain, and guitarist Ashley Naylor.
